"I knew it was going to be a
difficult third loop," Campbell
said. "I just tried to stay calm,
and I made a mistake, clipped a
rock, and the bike just stopped.
I hit the ground. I was okay, but
I let Dalton catch me. It was
super-technical where I crashed,
and I was a little rattled and
couldn't keep him behind me.
But, overall, it was a super-fun
course and a good day."
The Dalton he spoke of was
Dalton Shirey, the Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna Factory Rac
-
ing Off-Road Team rider getting
some seat time before NGPC
and the National Hare & Hound
series starts in a few weeks. Af-
ter a poor start, he had his work
cut out.
"I had a horrible start—hor
-
rible!" Shirey said. "But I stayed
calm, worked my way out of
the dust, and just kept picking
people off. I caught Preston on
loop three. It was a super-rocky
one, and I started floundering
around like a fish, but I saw Pres
-
ton getting closer to me while I
was doing that. I'm like, 'I've just
got to keep it together and don't
hit the ground!'
"And when I said that, I
crashed two times! In the matter
of a hundred feet: Boom! Boom!
The second time picking myself
up, Preston hit the ground, too."
Shirey thus became the sec
-
ond member of the Checkers to
win a Check Chase, the first be-
ing Bob Fero, who won in 1970,
shortly after returning from
Vietnam, according to Checkers
President Trevor Hoffman.
Campbell held on for a strong
second, followed by Fullerton,
Hatch Racing Kawasaki's Colton
Aeck (first 250), JCR Honda-
supported Nolan Cate, Giacomo
Redondi (in his first race aboard
a stock Pro Circuit/Precision
Coating Kawasaki KX450),
3Bros. Husqvarna-mounted
Ryan Smith, early front-runner
Trevor Hunter (on a basically
stock DirtBikeTest.com GasGas
300), defending D-37 champ Nic
Colangeli, and KTM 250 XC-
mounted Chayton Gardner.
Mark Kariya
OVERALL
1. Dalton Shirey (Hus)
2. Preston Campbell (Hon)
3. Chance Fullerton
4. Colton Aeck (Kaw)
5. Nolan Cate (Hon)
6. Giacomo Redondi (Kaw)
7. Ryan Smith (Hus)
8. Trevor Hunter (GG)
9. Nic Colangeli (KTM)
10. Chayton Gardner (KTM)
WIND
IN THE
P34
Checkers stalwart Trevor
Hoffman had the top 10 line up
just like they used to do after
races back in the day. First
through 10th were (L-R) Dalton
Shirey, Preston Campbell,
Chance Fullerton, Colton Aeck,
Nolan Cate, Giacomo Redondi,
Ryan Smith, Trevor Hunter, Nic
Colangeli and Chayton Gardner.
